I did something very similar a few weeks ago....and then again a week later :dunno:

I didn't have the cojones to go 8 cylinder though and stayed with the M54.

Congratulations on your purchase, as long as you're having fun and know what you're dealing with I wouldn't regret your new toy.

Obviously, there is risk in buying a used vehicle of any kind. The key is a full history, finding one with 1 or 2 owners, a PPI from a well recommended shop specializing in BMWs, a clear Carfax and one with less than 75,000 miles. I have found a clean and low wear interior is a good sign. Also, being able to DIY. 4.8s are known to wear valves seals and it is not uncommon to have transmission issues on X5s at somewhere over 100,000 miles.

Don't get discouraged. Make a list of what needs to be done and what you want to do. Prioritize it by what is most important to do. Include estimated costs and start ticking through the list. I find that if I start personalizing the vehicle along the way it keeps my enthusiasm high. If the cost starts to bother me I think of the monthly cost of payments for a vehicle that should not have the problems I am dealing with. Good luck!

Does anyone have a service manual they can share? I'm finally replacing my rusted rear subframe and replacing some bushings while I'm in there. A manual would be helpful.


Looks like BMW had this site shut down...

Get the Bentley manual, it will pay for itself the first time you use it. ;)

I've got the printed manual. And at some point several years ago, picked up PDF versions of the supposedly E46 and supposedly E53 manuals. Way too big to email either of those.

But I'll say that having the printed one vs. the PDFs ... the PDFs are kind of useful, but far from definitive. I don't know how they got pieced together. For me, they are useful when searching through the PDF to find what shows up where, and then I go to the printed manual to see what the actual truth is for my car. They are in theory the same thing, but in reality, ??? (and if there is a doubt, that is a problem)

Looking through my PDFs, I happened to notice I already scanned 3 pages from my Bentley for the rear subframe. I bet searching on here will show where I posted them years ago in a forum thread on the topic. But anyway, here it is again.

JHFC this damn site. My 2MB PDF is too big for it to handle. :banghead: Then I break it into 3x JPGs and the resolution is too big to upload. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: If you want me to email it to you, just message me your email address.

EDIT - found my previous post. I guess the image upload limitations were looser back then ?????????? WTFH ???
https://xoutpost.com/1206909-post4.html


Good luck.

Good looking out! I actually found one of your replies to another post about torque specs. https://xoutpost.com/1197922-post8.html. I'll be using that today as I'm in the middle of the job.

Manuals are a nice resource to have on hand but are not very detailed by necessity of having to fit everything into one physical book. I am a visual person and find forum walkthroughs and youtube videos more useful than the sparse black and white photos in manuals. Forums in particular are fantastic with the tough spots and idiosyncrasies of certain repairs. Xoutpost for E53s being one of the best in my experience. The one thing manuals are great at is having all the torque specs in one place, which is mostly what I use them for.

I'll send a private message with my email address. BTW, I have Bentley PDFs OCR'd and indexed (for faster searching) for E30 and E36 models if you need any of those.

Link to download Bentley Manual if anyone else needs it.


EDIT: Link wasn't working so new link posted further down thread.

"to Be-ntley, or not to Be-ntley, that is the question"
 

Just after I got my X5, 2.5 years ago, another member offered to send me his old, used Bentley manual, but never followed thru, so I hunted everywhere and found a compilation of .pdfs for X5's up thru 2004 (as best as I could tell), which seems to be copied from an online repair service many years ago (and which probably would object to it being freely distributed). It's over 600MB in size, and therefore too big to send via email (the rear suspension section alone is 50+ pages long). At least, oldskewel previously posted the most pertinent pages, already.

My bootleg/internet-sourced "E53 service/repair/workshop manual" is a mixtape, mashup, miscellany of sorts, with pages labeled for different year models mixed together; at first that made finding what I was looking for difficult, though now, while using MS Edge as my .pdf reader, not Adobe, I get a sorta usable table of contents that helps me find what I'm looking for much easier than before.

In the last couple of years, my internet searches have elicited much detailed info that I believe is near to what the fabulous Bentley manual might've provided me (if ever received, whether gifted, bought, or copied); between this forum and several other BMW-specific (about a dozen) forums and individuals' websites, I've found some hidden links to "forbidden" BMW knowledge, so the "the truth is out there", so to speak (forgive my X-Files reference).

I still get the most info and best direction from Xoutpost, and from a cadre of hardcore users (though for some reason, there are others whose posted info is unviewable by me???). I still spend hours each day, trying to expand my knowledge concerning my X5.

$32 for 24hr access?

🤯

My Bentley has been very valuable. A Craigslist ad for a BMW windshield shade led me to it. The seller notice I was driving my X5. He asked to look at it. He had a sport cluster in his. I can't remember if he sold it or it was totaled. We started to talk about maintenance. He asked if I would be interested in a Bentley manual. He sold it to me for $60 or $80. Included was a notebook with all kind of print outs and information. I keep adding print outs and information. Anyone doing their own maintenance should definitely have one for reference.